Coffee Berry Borer (From Hawaii Gov. web)

One of the most devastating coffee pests, the
coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei),has been found in several coffee farms in
Kona.

The coffee berry borer is a small beetle and is
native to Central Africa and is also found in many coffee growing
regions of the world, including Central and
South America.

The beetle bores into the coffee "cherry"
to lay its eggs. The larvae feed on the coffee bean,
reducing the yield and quality of the bean. Because the
larvae are inside the bean, it makes it difficult to control
by pesticides.

Elsie Burbano from the University of Hawaii at
Ma¯noa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human
Resources (UH-CTAHR), collected the beetles from
several farms in Kona and dropped off samples to the
Hawaii Department of Agriculture on September 2nd.

The identification of coffee bean borer beetle was
confirmed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture entomology
laboratory in Riverdale, MD.
HDOA entomologists from Honolulu and Hawaii
Island are organizing surveys on all islands to determine
the extent of the infestation; however, early indications
are that the beetle is established from Kainaliu to
Honaunau on the west coast of Hawaii Island.

Discussions
with coffee growers this week indicate that the
beetle may have been present for more than a year, but
was only reported last week.
It is not known how the coffee berry borer was
introduced to Hawaii.

Hawaii has strict importation
rules that require quarantine fumigation of all imported
green coffee beans to rid the beans of pathogens and
insect pests. Coffee plants and plant parts are also
restricted from being imported to Hawaii under Plant
Quarantine rules.

It appears that this pest has been here for several years
and may be well established in some growing areas in
South Kona. Staff from the HDOA and the UH-CTAHR
have already begun to investigate various control methods,
including biological control which involves finding
natural enemies of this beetle.